Dromore farmer fined for water pollution offence

A DROMORE farmer has been fined £1,500 after admitting polluting a local waterway in November 2020.

Keith Russell (54), of Camderry Road, pleaded guilty to making a polluting discharge to a waterway at Omagh Magistrates Court on Monday.

The court heard that, on November 9, 2020, Water Quality Inspectors (WQI) acting on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) responded to a report of pollution in a tributary of the Owenreagh River.

The inspectors observed extensive sewage fungus across the bed of the stream. They continued upstream to a farm on the Camderry Road.

The inspectors then discovered a tank on the farm was overflowing with farm effluent, which was flowing over an adjacent field and into the waterway. In accordance with procedures, a tripartite statutory sample of the active discharge was collected and analysed and found to contain poisonous, noxious, or polluting matter which was potentially harmful to fish life in the receiving waterway.

After the hearing, a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs said, “Effluents of this nature enrich fungus coverage on the bed of the watercourse which may lead to the destruction of fish spawning sites, as well as starving river invertebrates, on which fish feed, of oxygen.”

Anyone wishing to report a pollution incident can call the 24 hour Water Pollution Hotline on 0800 80 70 60.